Constitutional corporations wishing to sell, lease or sublease a disclosure affected building or area of a building under the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) Program must obtain a Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC) and include the energy efficiency star rating from the BEEC in any advertisement.

Advertising includes:

  • banners on buildings, foyers and perimeter fences
  • advertising in newspapers, brochures, magazines and internet sites.

How does the NABERS Energy for offices rating have to be displayed in advertising?

To comply with section 15 of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010, the NABERS Energy for offices rating must be expressed by:

  • using the rating from 0 to 6 worked out for the building under the NABERS Energy rating rules
  • adding the words ‘-star NABERS Energy rating’ after the number, for example:
    • 4.5-star NABERS Energy rating
    • 3-star NABERS Energy rating
    • 0-star NABERS Energy rating

In addition, the rating must not be one which takes into account the effect of purchasing electricity under the GreenPower program.

The rating must also be displayed prominently within every advertisement so that:

  • it is clearly visible
  • it is not obscured
  • the number and the text included in the rating is at least as large as the majority of the text contained in the advertisement.

Examples of correct and incorrect advertising

Building signage and newspaper style advertising (example 1)

  • Rating text must not be smaller than the majority of text.

nabers-signage-1

Building signage and newspaper style advertising (example 2)

  • Displaying a NABERS Commitment agreement rating only does not meet CBD legislation. The NABERS Energy rating must also be displayed.

nabers-signage-2

Banner style advertising

  • Banner advertising must still include a NABERS rating.

nabers-signage-3

Internet style advertising

  • The advertising requirements include internet advertising. The NABERS Energy efficiency rating must be included in property information.

nabers-signage-4

For more detail, including examples, download the Guidance note on Advertising.

The requirements for how star ratings must be disclosed in advertisements are specified in the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Determination 2016 (Secretary’s Determination).

What happens if you don’t comply with the advertising requirements?

Civil penalties of up to $275,000 for the first day and $27,500 for each subsequent day may be imposed by a Court for each breach of a disclosure obligation. Alternatively, the Secretary of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Waters may issue an infringement notice of up to $27,500 for the first day and $2,750 for each subsequent day of non-compliance.

Where to from here?

Find out more